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My Peter Frampton Show Review

elduave

By elduave
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elduave Veteran HFCer

elduave

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Please go to facebook.com/songisking and "like" the page if you dig the writing. Here it is:

Frampton, Aging Well & Relevant

by Song Is King on Sunday, June 26, 2011 at 12:25pm

Peter Frampton

Filene Center-Wolf Trap, Vienna, VA

6/23/11

Based on the strength of 2010's "Thank You Mr. Churchill" record, my hankering for a Peter Frampton show was high. On a Thursday night, the stars aligned and off to Wolf Trap I went. Peter's 2011 trek has been dubbed the "Frampton Comes Alive! 35 Tour", where the hook is the FCA album played in it's entirety, along with highlights from his Grammy winning career. OK, I thought, we'll still get some Churchill stuff, it'll be "all good." A note on the venue, this being only my third time at Wolf Trap, and first sitting up close in the pavilion. The place is beautiful. The sound is pretty damn good. It's clean, roomy enough, and other than the fact that you can't take your beer to your seat, it may be my new favorite area venue.

The show started about 7:40. Something's Happening and Doobie Wah opened, just like the record. The set jumped around a bit differently than on the four sides of vinyl many have grown close with. Peter explained that he'd be doing the show in "proper" order, as they toured it back in the day, and not as it appeared, edited and rearranged on record. An early highlight for me was Wind Of Change, PF alone with an acoustic. FCA bassist Stanley Sheldon returns for this tour, looking like he wasn't sure if he was going sailing or playing a rock show, to which my pal Joe pointed out, "I think those are the same clothes he wore 35 years ago!" Eventually the set built it's way up to the seminal Do You Feel Like We Do, complete with will he-won't he talk box schtick, the (roughly 2/3rds full) crowd lapping it up frenziedly. The performance was aided by some tasteful video behind the band, including many pics and films greatly unseen heretofore. They did the FCA "encores" without leaving the stage, Humble Pie's Shine On, and White Sugar coming off very strong and "deep track" friendly. He wrapped the FCA set with Jumpin' Jack Flash (not my favorite version) and announced he'd be back for another set after a break.

Of course, as I'm in line for the "convenience", he opens the second set with not one but two songs from the Churchill record that I'm so keen on. I think there was a young couple getting to know each other in the single stall I was waiting on. Oh well. I did make it back to my seat in time for three songs from Frampton's Grammy winning instrumental record, Fingerprints. It was obvious why this record gained so much buzz after hearing these tunes. Frampton quipped, "a few years ago I decided not to sing on a record, and they gave me a Grammy." Big props to guitarist Adam Lester and utility guy Rob Arthur (keys/guitars/vox). They were outstanding, especially Lester with his part/counterpart playing all evening. Another highlight was the second go around of All I Wanna Be (Is By Your Side), performed "unplugged" in the first set and full band in the second. Odd, but cool. Thankfully, we got another couple of tunes from "...Churchill", another Humble Pie classic (blues rip-snorter Four Day Creep) and the second set closed with an instrumental version of Soundgarden's Black Hole Sun (!). Returning for While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Peter and band put a cap on a near perfectly played, pro in every way performance that has me ranking PF highly on the "legacy" rock circuit. But, most noteworthy to me, are the many gems to be found in his recent output, making it a win win evening.

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Turdus Veteran HFCer

Turdus

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"Frampton Comes Alive" is still a "fresh" sounding record today, IMHO. Lots of great stuff on there.

Wolf Trap is about 15 mins from me, yet I was out in Md that night... we probably crossed paths en route.

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Willie G. Moseley Veteran HFCer

Willie G. Moseley

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Said it before, will re-emphasize here---Frampton is a hugely-underrated guitar player and songwriter. To wit: Anybody ever heard him play the blues? I haven't. Methinks theres a legit reason for that.

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cmatthes Veteran HFCer

cmatthes

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I love Wolf Trap - we get there a decent bit.

If you have pavilion tickets, a little known tip: If you have tickets in the back or the upper level (anywhere that isn't on the lawn), take your tickets immediately to the box office when you enter and get an upgrade. I've gotten plenty of front row or first 5 rows in the center by doing that, even though I paid for upper level back row tickets. It's always worth asking for this, and I've always gotten an upgrade.

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Brooks Veteran HFCer

Brooks

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good job, duave. frampton comes alive was one of my very 1st albums (8 tracks, actually), got it xmas '76 (2nd grade), along w/ BTO's greatest hits, & KISS - dressed to kill !!! i was hooked, tennis racket in the mirror, the whole bit.

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Brooks Veteran HFCer

Brooks

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Cool review! I just watched his Direct TV concert the other day. Really great playing. He had Dan Wojciechowski (N.TX dude and one of Timmon's drummers) playing with him. http://www.frampton.com/danski/

steve, remember nicole (my roomie before dana and casey)? her sister dated dan. AND, scott sailer bought dan's old drumset (which he then used in candy pig).

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Ted Veteran HFCer

Ted

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Great review Dave. I'm seeing him 8/2 in San Diego and hope the show is as good as you describe.

Yes, Very Good Review Elduave!!! Thank You for posting it.

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  • 3 weeks later...
singlehum Inner Circle

singlehum

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I caught the FCA anniversary show in CT last night. Frampton was great and the band was tight. I feel a bit cheated though - the show was short compared to El Duave's experience. Only played about two hours - they left out Shine On and Jumpin' Jack Flash, and the only encore was While My Guitar Gently Weeps. No "other" Frampton of Humble Pie songs were played.

I'm not sure if perhaps there were time restrictions due to the venue being a Casino theater (MGM Grand), or possibly Frampton got miffed because some woman in the front row kept taking cell phone video of him during Do You Feel Like We Do. He told her to "hang up the phone and go Twitter somewhere else", but she kept on and he was visibly angered.

Anyway, it's worth checking out, and at the shows you can buy CDs of the night's performance which I thought is pretty cool (but not real inexpensive).

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Willie G. Moseley Veteran HFCer

Willie G. Moseley

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RE: Venue restrictions---when STYX was out doing their double-album tour last fall (The Grand Illusion + Pieces of Eight), for some reason they couldn't do it at the Hard Rock Cafe venue in Biloxi, so that show was presented as "An Evening w/ STYX" on the band's web site (and probably when someone bought tickets online as well, I'd presume). That distinction was the difference in the Missus and me deciding to go either there or to Atlanta to the Cobb Energy PAC, where the albums were presented in their entirety; we chose the latter and were glad we did.

Going to Biloxi Friday for the Frampton gig, but it's at the Beau Rivage, not the Hard Rock.

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Willie G. Moseley Veteran HFCer

Willie G. Moseley

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The Missus and I caught the show in Biloxi at the Beau Rivage last night. Album done first, then PF announced that they weren't going to take a break but instead would play straight thru, and they did a lot of other newer stuff, including several excellent instrumentals from Fingerprints as well as Humble Pie's "Four Day Creep". The encore was "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" at this show, as well.

What was cool about the album portion was that for the most part Frampton used more than one of his 3-p/u Les Paul Customs, and had a guitar cord instead of being wireless, to reference the historical/nostalgic vibe, I suppose. Great extended guitar battles between Adam Lester and PF on songs like "I'll Give You Money". The tone on a red ES-335 that PF used in the second set was to die for, and he also played what appeared to be an early 60s SG/Les Paul, which was apparently modded; it still had the ebony-block tailpiece decoration but no vibrato. First time I've seen him playing a guitar with that silhouette.

Frampton did his usual good job establishing a rapport with the audience, and his chops seem undiminished. Several acoustic numbers played on a Frampton's Camel Martin were excellent.

The experience at the venue had some awkward moments---it's a half-circle, about performing arts center size (maybe 2000?) but there's a round "pit" a couple of steps down, so that allowed standing in front of the stage. To seated patrons in the first few rows, the view of the stage is mostly cut off; about all you could see were the musicians' heads...so thank goodness for the Jumbotron/Diamondvision/whatever thingamajig.

Also, I had a photo pass, and there did indeed appear to be a narrow photo pit in front, but security would not allow anyone in there---passes or not. First time I've had that experience but I still managed to get some OK shots.

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Willie G. Moseley Veteran HFCer

Willie G. Moseley

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UPDATE: Turns out the SG/Les Paul was a '62, which he used with Humble Pie; the entire Town and Country album was recorded with it. Frampton had traded it off in '71 for a deal on another guitar, but John Nady (of the wireless company) ultimately acquired it and gave it back to PF in the '90s. Frampton says that guitar also survived the Nashville flood; he lost 40 guitars that were stored at SoundCheck.

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  • 2 weeks later...
cynic Veteran HFCer

cynic

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I attended the San Diego show last night. Elduave's review pretty much nails it.

The only two things I would add are the attitude of the two sets changes quite a bit. During the FCA set there were lots of jokes and interplay with the audience while the second set had a much more serious vibe. It came across to me as if he's either insecure about the music (doubtful) or that it comes from a much deeper place and carries more meaning. He seemed more entranced by it.

The second thing (and notable exception to my first point) is how great the FCA acoustic set with PF alone on the stage was. He did Wind of Change, Just the Time of the Year, Penny for Your Thoughts, and All I want to Be with more emotion and soul than I've ever heard them (okay, maybe not so much with PFYT).

What struck me during this four song stretch is how proud I am to be part of the older generation, because last night was further proof that no one does it better than those that have been around awhile.

May have even got a bit of gas from Adam Lester's Deusenberg. Anyone have a Starplayer TV they want to move? :blink:

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